AV-Test, an independent organization well known for testing PC security suites, put 17 popular Android anti-virus apps to the test. The results were disappointing, to say the least. A majority of apps failed to detect at least 65% of malware samples and six apps failed to detect a single sample.

Mobile operating systems are the undiscovered country of computer security. As hackers discover new ways to infect Android, security researchers are looking for ways to remove or block those infections. The results of the new study suggest that the hackers have the upper hand.

Brand names don’t guarantee excellent results, however. Apps from Norton, AVG and Bitdefender landed in the second tier. McAfee, Comodo and GData scored even worse, detecting less than 65% of the samples used in the study. Despite the poor showing, many of these apps are not free. McAfee, for example, is $29.99 a year after a 7-day trial.